Newark, JFK and LaGuardia among dozens of airports to be impacted by FAA flight reductions
LaGuardia, JFK, Newark and Teterboro airports are among the airports where flight reductions are expected
NEW YORK (WABC) -- With the Thanksgiving travel season just around the corner, the FAA announced it will reduce flights at dozens of airports across the country, including four in the Tri-State area.
LaGuardia, JFK, Newark and Teterboro airports are among the list of 40 major airports announced Wednesday evening.
Under the emergency order issued by the FAA, airlines are required to reduce operations at the 40 "high-impact airports" by 6% by Nov. 11 and by 10% by Nov. 14. Any airline that does not comply will be fined $75,000 per flight over the limit, according to the FAA order.
The decision could cut thousands of flights per day.
Check your flight status:
Newark Liberty International Airport
JFK Airport
LaGuardia Airport
The restrictions will go into effect Friday morning, FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said.
American Airlines said Thursday it will cancel about 220 of its roughly 6,000 departures starting Friday and lasting through this weekend.
United Airlines said in a statement it plans to cancel less than 200 of its more than 5,000 flights each day through the weekend, focusing on those that have the smallest impact on passengers.
United has posted a list of every flight they've canceled in order to comply with the new restrictions. Half of all passengers on cancelled flights were able to rebook on another flight within four hours of their original departure time.
Delta Airlines said it planned to cancel about 170 daily flights.
American, United and Delta -- the three largest airlines in the U.S. -- all have said they believe they will be able to accommodate most of the impacted passengers on other flights.
This comes after Duffy said earlier this week that the FAA will be forced to shut down the airspace in some areas if the shutdown continues into next week.
The FAA hopes the reductions will ease the pressure the government shutdown has put on air traffic controllers who have been working without pay since Oct. 1. Many have walked off the job, leading to staffing shortages and flight delays.
On Thursday, Duffy cited flight reductions imposed at Newark Airport over the summer as he explained how cutting 10% of air traffic at the nation's 40 busiest airports could lighten the load on overworked air traffic controllers.
"We had massive delays at Newark early in the summer, and we reduced the capacity at Newark, and then all the flights flew on time," Duffy said during an interview with Fox News. "There were no more delays. I can't guarantee that's the case here, but I'm hopeful that we're going to have more on-time flights, less cancelations."
At Newark, 12 flights are canceled for Friday, including six outbound and six inbound flights.
That includes two flights to and from Boston, one to and from Atlanta, one two and from Orlando, one to and from Miami and one two and from Fort Lauderdale.
"The 4% impacts 12 flights for us. So, 12 flights during the course of the day will be impacted tomorrow. And we've actually already processed those cancelations and notified the customers so they can make changes," said Jon Gooda, United Airlines Vice President of Operations at Newark Liberty Airport.
The forthcoming reduction in capacity marks an unprecedented move by the FAA and the Department of Transportation. Bedford said he has never seen this happen before in his 35-year career.
Thursday marks the 37th day of the government shutdown, which is now the longest in history.
"Secretary Duffy's decision to reduce flights and create chaos at our airports is just the latest example of the Trump Administration using this GOP shutdown to hurt Americans," Gov. Kathy Hochul said. "Grounding flights will hurt the economy in every corner of our state, especially communities served by smaller airports that are the first to experience cancellations. New Yorkers bracing for cancelled flights and hectic airports will have the latest GOP shutdown stunt to blame. Enough is enough, it's time for Donald Trump and Washington Republicans to get to work and end this government shutdown."
Mayor Eric Adams posted on social media, also calling for the federal government to end the shutdown:
As travelers wait to see which flights will be cut or impacted, FlightAware has published a Misery Map to keep an eye on flight delays and cancelations across the country.
(ABC News contributed to this report.)
----------
* Get Eyewitness News Delivered
* Download the abc7NY app for breaking news alerts
Submit a tip or story idea to Eyewitness News
Have a breaking news tip or an idea for a story we should cover? Send it to Eyewitness News using the form below. If attaching a video or photo, terms of use apply.
